


Curiosity Killed the Cat

by positivelyskam



Category: SKAM (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Angst, Bisexual, Coming Out, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Gay, Grumpy Isak, Introvert Isak, M/M, No Smut, SKAM - Freeform, Slow Burn, Tags May Change, a cute cat, sunshine even
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-04-17
Updated: 2017-04-27
Packaged: 2018-10-19 23:46:38
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,090
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10650600
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/positivelyskam/pseuds/positivelyskam
Summary: An AU where Even is a intern at a veterinary clinic and Isak has a grumpy, sick cat.





	1. Chapter One

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first time writing a fic so don't be shy with constructive criticism... Also the second chapter has been posted but I'm going to repost it so I would go back and read it again.  
> Also come message me on tumblr and we can talk about skam/ edit eachother's fics etc etc. It's the same username that I have on here: positivelyskam
> 
> Enjoy!

      Isak blinked a couple of times before fully opening his eyes, trying to adjust to the bright light that flooded his messy room through his window.  He guessed it was at least 1, and he would have slept through the day, if it weren’t for a loud purr  billowing into his left ear. Isak let out an exasperated sigh as he turned his head to the right.  He realized that, yet again, the pesky stray Eskild took in was lying snugly around the top of Isak’s head. Eskild had taken in the cat and Isak on the same night, and Isak remembers it vividly.

  
  


_       He was walking through the back streets of his neighborhood, with his duffle bag slung over his shoulder. He walked slow, not knowing where he was going. The more he walked, the more he wanted to forget, but his brain was in overdrive, rethinking everything. His dad had been throwing his arms violently, he had been so mad that his movements were almost spastic. _

 

_       “Really Isak, you should’ve known this is how she would’ve reacted. I bet you did, but you just want to see your mom suffer. Look at her, Isak! Look at her! Look what you’ve done!” Earlier that day, Isak had taken his mom to the movies, but there was a violent scene and a malevolent villain. Isak’s mom got scared, paranoid, that the same villain would come after her. “This is all you fault and you know it! You shouldn’t be part of this family.  You’re just going to continue to fuck everything up! Leave Isak! It’ll be better for all of us.”  When his dad finished yelling at Isak he transformed, and turned back to his wife with a timid look in his eyes. Isak ran upstairs to pack his things; he was leaving and he wasn’t coming back. Really, he had no other option. If he hadn’t left on his own, his dad would have physically kicked him out of the house. When Isak came back downstairs, he could see his two-faced dad crouched next to his mom. She was drawn into herself so only muffled sobs could escape from her mouth. Isak’s dad had taken a hold of her arm, gently massaging his palms up and down the frail limb. It was a technique he had learned years ago, to calm her down when she had her episodes. Slowly, she lifted her head from her knees and looked into his eyes, wrapping her arms around him. Isak grimaced in jealousy when he saw the two embrace. He felt left out in his own family, a place where he was supposed to belong. He couldn’t take the alienation anymore. Without looking back, Isak walked into the cold lonely night. The heavy hand of guilt clutched his heart as his dad’s word replayed in his mind. _

 

_       Isak eventually decided to walk to Jonas’ house thinking it would be okay if he could crash on Jonas’ couch for a couple of days. It was a long trip, especially on foot on a cold night, but Isak had no other place to go. Making his way across town, he could soon hear music coming from the bars and clubs, neon lights casting a glow onto the dark pavements. Impulsively, he waked into a bar, deciding to make use of his fake ID. he didn’t really want to wake Jonas up anyway. _

 

_       He made his way up to the bar and looked over at the guy next to him. Short red hair made way to blue eyes that were coated heavily in mascara and eyeshadow. He was in full party mode; bobbing his head hard to the beat of the music and gripping onto a drink in his left hand. When Isak slumped into a chair near the counter, the man introduced himself as Eskild. Isak tired to hide the fact that he was crying, but it was pretty obvious. Before Isak had managed to get his hands on a drink, the stranger named Eskild had coaxed him outside. As they walked away from the bar Eskild offered for Isak to crash on his couch for a couple of nights. Despite the fact that Eskild was a complete stranger, he had gone out of his way to make sure Isak was okay and that he was safe, and so Isak decided to trust Eskild. Besides, Isak knew he didn’t have the energy to make it to Jonas’ house. A scraggly grey cat had come out of an alley and tailed the two of them back to the flat. It had clearly not had a proper amount of food in weeks, judging by the number of ribs you could count hanging on to the sides of his slender structure. Eskild didn’t have the heart to turn him away, so the cat became his. Eskild became very attached to the cat, which he named Valentino. _

 

_       “My grandfather was named Valentino. He was Italian.” Eskild said this more to the cat then to Isak, who was already drifting off, exhausted, on the couch. “He told me once that is was a name to live up to. Do you know what it means?” There of course, was no response, save the soft meow. “It means strong, and brave.”   _

 

_       Isak decided he liked the little flat well enough, so before soon, he found a job at the local movie theatre and started paying rent. He was not about to go crawling back to his father, asking for rent money every month. Isak was on his own now, and he had come to terms with that surprisingly easily. He became fast friends with Noora and Linn, who were his other flatmates. Without parents, Eskild became his main source of advice, and a true friend. _

  
  


      Isak sat up and leaned against his room wall, which woke the cat out of his peaceful sleep. He had gained a lot of weight since that night, but Isak could still feel the cat’s bones digging into his skull. He shoved it away, fearful that claws would start slashing at any minute. The cat let out an upset meow and jumped off the bed. 

 

      “Do you plan on coming out of there today? Or should I tell Valentino to take out  his claws, so you don’t waste your life away?” Eskild quipped through the door. It was if he could read Isak’s mind.

 

      Isak groaned. Suddenly, he became very aware of how awful he felt. His head throbbed, and his muscles ached from sleep deprivation, even though he had slept in until 1 in the afternoon. Thoughts floated around lightly in his head, and he couldn’t really grasp onto any of them. All of these feelings were sourly familiar to Isak, except for the pleasant tingling that stayed in his fingers and toes. Faint memories of making out with a random chick, maybe a brunnette drifted through his groggy mind.

 

      “Yeah, yeah, I’m getting up, I’ll be out in a few minutes, Eskild,” Isak mumbled,  clearly annoyed.

 

      Isak had an eerie sense of déjà vu, realizing that the same conversation had happened way too much in the past month, but he didn’t really care. Partying on a Saturday night, and sleeping through Sunday had become his weekend routine ever since he moved out of his parent’s place.

 

      It took Isak a few minutes of shuffling through the blankets before he could find his phone. As he picked it up, he noticed there were a couple new texts from Jonas and the boys. He didn’t think they would be awake already, considering how much they drank last night. He couldn’t quite remember what, but he was sure some pretty bad stuff had gone down last night. He also had a few texts from Eva, which he decided to check first.

 

**eva**

_ (Missed calls: 3) _

11:24   _ have you finished your lit essay yet?  _

 

11:24 _ it’s due tomorrow… _

 

_ 11:26 can you read through mine as well? _

 

11:57  _ ISAK _

 

11:58  _ if you wake up before 14:30, meet me at the cozy dog _

13:13  _ just woke up, see you there. _

 

      Isak cursed at himself for completely forgetting about his literature essay, and was at the same time thankful that Eskild had woken him up in time to at least get a start on it before meeting Eva at the coffee shop. He checked his other texts.

 

**Group**

**(jonas, mahdi, magnus)**

 

**mahdi**

12:07  _ yo, did anyone get a video of last night?! _

 

**_magnus_ **

12:09  _ no, i wish, but look it’s already been posted all over instagram _

 

**mahdi**

12:10  _ oh shit! Chris is going to be so pissed! _

 

**jonas**

12:11  _ If Chris is going to be pissed, then what does that make Iben? _

 

**mahdi**

12:11   _ true, i bet neither of them will show up at school tomorrow. _

 

**magnus**

_ 12:12  you wanna bet? i think it’s gonna be at least week. _

 

**jonas**

12:12  _  really? A week? _

 

**magnus**

12:12  _  yeah, a week. _

 

**mahdi**

12:13   _ if you’re so sure, then i will make it a bet. 75kr. _

 

**magnus**

12:14  _  deal _

 

**jonas**

12:14  _  yo, where tf is Isak? _

_ does anyone know? _

 

**mahdi**

12:15   _ probably sleeping still, tbh _

 

**magnus**

12:15   _ yeah, it’s hard work, hooking up with a different hot chick every saturday night _

 

**jonas**

12:15   _ lmaoo _

 

**mahdi**

12:16   _ and this time she was a third year! _

 

**jonas**

12:16  _  seriously? _

 

**mahdi**

12:17   _ yeah, that’s what i heard. _

 

**magnus**

12:18   _ smh, the world is so unfair _

 

**mahdi**

12:18   _ no, you’re just too desperate _

 

**magnus**

12:19  _  fuck off _

 

      Isak didn’t bother answering the group chat; he didn’t have time to be pressed for details he couldn’t remember. He scrambled into a hoodie and jeans and headed out into the kitchen for some breakfast--well, maybe it was more of a late lunch.

 

      Eskild was sitting at the small white table in the corner of the kitchen, sipping on a cup of tea. It was almost as if he was waiting for Isak to show up, so he could prey on the younger boy for gossip.

 

      “Ahh, the moody teen awakens at last!” Eskild exclaimed. He hopped up from his cozy seat at the table to wrap his arms around Isak.

 

      “Good morning, Eskild.” Isak hugged him back, but shot him an eyeroll as soon as they they pulled away from each other, Isak couldn’t let the pointed comment go without acknowledgement.

 

      “Isak,” Eskild’s voice was suddenly filled with playful conviction, “Tell me about last night, did you- meet anybody, perhaps?” Eskild wiggled his eyebrows. Isak had turned away from him, rummaging through the fridge.

 

      “No Eskild, I didn’t  _ meet  _ anybody,” Isak lied into the fridge.

 

      “Oh no!” he sounded truly upset, “What a  _ shame _ , Isak! You were at a  _ party _ , for christ sake, and you didn’t  _ meet _ anybody? Are you serious?!”

 

      “Well you know I  _ met  _ people, just, not people I want to talk to again.” Isak knew exactly what Eskild had meant by that,  _ “meeting somebody”  _  but he decided to play ignorant nevertheless.

 

      “Isak,” he whined, “You have to be more open _ , _ loosen up a little, you can’t live in loneliness forever, it’ll drive you insane!!” Eskild was throwing his arms in the air, pacing back and forth in the small white kitchen. His silk robe was swishing around his ankles, adding extra drama to his movements.

 

      “Watch me!” Isak hissed. He took a block of cheese out of the fridge and stormed out of the kitchen in mock anger. He had meant to grab the loaf of bread sitting on the counter, to improvise a sort of  cheesy toastie, but he got caught up in the moment, and forgot it.

 

      “Will you two shut up?! I’m trying to get some work done!” Noora was sitting in the living room, typing on her keyboard.

 

      “Isak, that’s my cheese!” Eskild was chasing him down the hallway, trying not to slip when he approached the corners on the wood flooring.

 

      “I don’t care! You always eat my food!” he yelled, and ignoring Noora’s request, slammed his bedroom door loudly.

 

      “Fine! See if I care about my stupid cheese! You can keep pushing people away Isak, but that won't make your problems any better!” he chided, storming now in the opposite direction  down the narrow hallway. It was often that Eskild found something to get after Isak about, whether it be about Isak’s rent money, or his social habits. No matter how much of a pain it was, Isak decided he preferred it over his dad’s abusive ranting. He now felt comfortable at the little flat, and had even grown to love Eskild, Linn and Noora, though he would never admit it.

 

      “Eskild--” Isak stopped himself there, he didn’t have anything good enough to say back, and he was done with this childish banter. Besides, he had a goddamn essay to write.


	2. Chapter Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Isak meets Eva at the coffee shop to catch up on homework, but mainly in the hopes of being filled in on the details of the party. What he learns leaves him feeling confused and panicky... (lmao i suck at summaries)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am overwhelmed by the amount of kudos, hits, and bookmarks I got on my first chapter of my first fic! Thank you all so much, you inspired me to write Ch 2. If you want me to keep writing this, comments/kudos are very much appreciated. Sorry it took me so long to update, I got really busy. I will probably post Ch. 3 within the next week or so, depending on the feed back I get on this ch. Hope you enjoy!

After putting on a plethora of layers, Isak headed out of the flat and into the biting cold. He walked quickly to the coffee shop, hoping Eva would have been sober enough to give him more details on the party Saturday night. Mainly, he just wanted to know which third year girl to avoid on Monday. That how Isak operated, he would hook up, and usually, he would be too drunk to remember anything about the girl. Most of the time, it worked just fine. Most of the time, girls would understand it was just a hook up, and they were smarter then to get attached. Sometimes, though, they would get attached, and Isak would date them for a while, but never long enough for anything serious to happen. He didn’t like feelings; mushy gushy romantic movies made him want to throw up. Don’t even get him started on marriage, just the idea of being in a relationship with one girl for the rest of his life made him shudder. He quickly shook the thought and opened the door to his favorite coffee shop.

He saw Eva almost immediately in their usual corner table, the one right next to a small window. She had ordered him a coffee and was already sipping on one of her own. He made his way over to the table and leaned his backpack against the chair. They got to work quickly, both of them knowing that they had little time to waste.

As they looked over each other’s essays in a comfortable, focused silence, Isak was thinking about how to ask Eva about the party. He wanted to ease his way into the question. Even though he did this almost every weekend, he still felt, guilty, and dirty, almost, to have to ask about who he hooked up with. He didn’t want to be viewed as a womanizer, although the whole school already seemed to know what Isak Valtersen got up to on the weekends. The reputation took a toll on him, but he decided to keep it alive for reasons he couldn’t really fathom. Ultimately, he decided to just blatantly ask Eva, because no matter how he would try to sugarcoat the question, she would see straight through him anyway.

“Eva,” he started. She looked up from her laptop, with a knowing look in her eyes, “who did I hook up with last night?” She let the question linger in the air, and when she didn’t answer after a moment, he started to ramble “I just want to make sure that I didn’t start anything... anything real.” He shifted in the wooden chair. “ And things are much easier to break off when you know who to break them off _with_ -”

“Isak, I know, you don’t need to explain yourself…” She looked down at her keyboard, this time she was the one who shifted in her seat. She opened her mouth just slightly but Isak noticed, his full attention on her now. When she closed it again, Isak felt as if he was going to explode with anxious curiosity.

“So, who was it then?” he pressed.

She looked up at him, and let out a silent sigh. “Isak, um, you didn’t hook up,” she paused, seemingly in the middle of her sentence.

“Come on Eva, I wasn’t _that_ drunk. I at least know that hooked up, just not with who,” he bit his lip and narrowed his eyes, suddenly skeptical as to why she was acting so weird.

“No, Isak, what I _meant_ was,” she held his gaze, calculating the impact her words would have on him, “ you didn’t hook up with a girl, you hooked up with Even, the third year.” She spat out that word quickly, before she could regret saying anything.

“Oh,” He didn’t say anything for a few seconds, with his mouth slightly agape. His head exploded with ideas so frantic he couldn’t even put them into words. A feeling manifested so quickly it felt like his head was going to roll right off of his neck, from sheer weight. The feeling was so strong, but Isak had never known it before. He only took a few moments before replying, letting rambled, casual words fall out of his mouth and consume the space around their corner of the coffee shop. “That’s cool I guess, I mean, I’m not gay, but it’s whatever. It probably happens to a lot of guys.” He shrugged, feeling like he should fill the space with something. “Wow, I guess I was _really_ hammered,” He forced a laugh at the end of his sentence, trying believe his own words. Somehow, something felt fake about them, even though he thought he meant every one with the utmost sincerity.

“Listen, Isak, if you want to talk about it-”

“No Eva, really it’s whatever, thanks for telling me though.”

“Sure no problem.” She pursed her lips and after a brief moment, looked back at the laptop screen. “We should probably get back to work now.”

“Yeah, probably.” Just like that, an awkward tension coated the space between them, neither of them knowing what to say to each other. Soon enough, Eva got back to work, but it was impossible for Isak to do anything in that instant, let alone revise a school essay.

He sat there slouched and stupid, overcome with brand new thoughts and emotions and a sweeping sensation. He tried to get back to work, but his mind kept drifting with every few sentences he read. This was so stupid, he had to be able to focus, he owed it to Eva to actually read her essay. But a stone had made itself a permanent guest in Isak’s gut. His head was turning itself over inside and out trying to find phrases and words to shove his thoughts into. But they were big and unruly, and Isak couldn’t even begin to decipher them. He gave up on trying to read her essay, his mind was buzzing too loudly. Instead, Isak conceded to staring at the blinking line on the document. The blinking line was yelling at him, forcing him back into reality, reminding him as every second went by. The blinking line saved his sanity, it stopped his mind from rocketing to the moon, and falling into a furious orbit. He sat there for several minutes, motionless, trying hard to drag himself out of the stupor. All the while Eva kept on working. She sat open and unjudging, knowing well enough that she shouldn’t push anything out of Isak in that moment. After a long five minutes, he regained enough focus to look through Eva’s essay a couple times more, and get the rest of his homework (which included several painfully complicated geometry questions) done. He said a quick goodbye to Eva and thanked her for helping him with his essay. Isak packed up his things at a record pace, and bolted out of the comfortable coffee shop. Finally he could let his mind travel into space, and maybe this stone in his gut would have the decency to explain its appearance. His steps were so fast that Isak was almost running down the street, his body trying to keep up with his mind. Isak was so caught up in his thoughts, or rather, the lack there of, looking down at the ground, that he didn’t just run into one, but _three_ lamp posts on the way home. Soon enough, his brain had simmered enough to the point where one thing decided to manifest itself. His mind kept running back to the same childhood memory. Apparently, it was relevant, though Isak had no idea why. It replayed in leisurely, painful loops:

_“Isak!”_

_Isak squinted in the noon sun to look over at Coach Pablo, he had a scowl set deeply into his face, like usual. Confused, Isak ran off the field and was sitting in the soft grass on the sidelines, stretching as Coach Pablo instructed him to do. Isak had been on the field a mere 10 minutes, when Coach decided to pull him off again. Sure, Isak wasn’t the best soccer player, but it was unfair for his Coach to pick favorites. He ran the team with a strict hierarchy and set system, as if these ten year old boys were going to the world cup. Isak hated Coach Pablo, and Coach always picked on him._

_“You know, Isak, if we win this game, we go to sectionals, we need to go to sectionals this year. If we don’t, we might as well call ourselves the saddest soccer team in history…” he kept rambling on and on but Isak didn’t bother paying attention. He didn’t need to be brought down with Coach Pablo. Instead, he watched the black and white ball roll on the slick green grass as the game unfolded._

_They were losing 2-3, and Isak had little hope they would win. The team had one star player, and Isak watched him in awe as he sat on the sidelines. The boy's feet worked with the ball as if it were an extension of his leg. A small pink tongue peeked out from between his lips, in a look of concentration. Isak thought that if he were to wear the same expression, he would have bitten his tongue several times by now. The boy’s complicated hairdo flopped up and down as he ran. Isak had never seen it styled like that before. He thought it looked really cool. Isak almost never did anything with his hair. Isak was in such and awe, that, he barely notice the ball hurling towards his head, until it was too late. A thick stream of blood rushed from his nose to his chin, where is threatened the cleanliness of his white jersey. He ran to the porta-potty, grateful for the excuse to get away from Coach Pablo’s ranting._

_After he cleaned up his bloody nose, Isak realized he had no intention of returning, so he snuck around the park. He knew that Coach Pablo wasn’t going to put him back in anyway. He strolled from field to field getting glimpses at the other games taking place. Eventually, Isak returned to his spot on the sidelines to see his team walking off the field looking defeated and exhausted. With no doubt, they had lost. As his team gathered on the grass, Isak looked around, unwilling to meet Coach Pablo’s eyes after running away from him. Isak's eyes instead locked with the boy from the other team. The one with the cool hairdo. The boy stuck his tongue out at Isak, teasing him about this result of the game. Isak stuck his tongue out right back, and rolled his eyes. Isak had to show him that he wasn’t hurt by such a rude remark. After a few long seconds, Isak looked away, and down at his hands. He smiled. He decided to listen to Coach Pablo’s post-game speech for a little, just to see if he would say something stupid. Coach Pablo had a reputation for saying stupid shit all the time, and the boys would laugh about it behind his back. He was going on on about how the team’s defense was weak and too passive. Isak suddenly felt a crimson drop land in his palm. For the second time that day, his nose sent him running to the porta potty. Someone laughed as he sprinted toward the teal plastic shed. He turned around for a split second to see who it was. It was the boy with the cool hairdo._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What will happen when Isak is faced with more troubling news?! Stay tuned for the next chapter to find out! Thank you so much for reading! If you liked it, please leave comments/kudos. Also, come talk to me about s4 or just skam in general on tumblr @21in_a_parallel_universe21

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you liked it. Leave kudos/ comments if you please!


End file.
